Entries in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems
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“Many of the technologies we are using for automated driving are actually active safety systems,” says Andrew Whydell by way of explanation as to why automated driving is at the cusp of realization. As Global Director, Vehicle Systems Product Planning, ZF TRW Active and Passive Safety Division, Whydell has seen the proliferation of safety systems throughout the vehicle, as well as calls from regulators and safety organizations to make some of the necessary technologies standard equipment. As they have matured and tied in to other units in order to increase system capability, they have been joined by new features that make autonomous control of a vehicle possible.

Automatic Emergency Braking will be the first automated system offered by automakers. In the near future, all new cars will require AEB in order to get a Five Star safety rating, and will build upon this system.Are autonomous vehicle the Holy Grail of automotive safety? Both the media and Wall Street have focused on the autonomous future, suggesting driverless cars are not only just around the corner, they will dramatically reduce, if not eliminate, vehicle crashes and force wide-spread global adoption of this technology. They claim injury and death rates will plummet, as will insurance costs, and automakers will be able to make their vehicles less “battle hardened” for the simple reason that they are unlikely to crash during their lifetime. Further, in a future straight out of the movie Demolition Man, you will be able to choose between autonomous and non-autonomous driving on the fly, and turn the family car from a transportation device to a rolling office or conversation pit. “At times I think some of the media coverage has gotten well ahead of reality,” says Brian Loh, ZF TRW’s Vice President, Active Safety and Automated Driving, in a quote dripping with understatement. “We are way far away from where you could start taking passive safety out of a vehicle.”